A/N: I've had a sudden wave of motivation with this story (thank you Guest reviewer!) and churned out this chapter today.
Non-romance 'TWD' fanfics don't tend be hugely popular, but I urge you to give this one a chance :)
Thanks to my beta, Calcifer179!
And thank you to everyone who gives this story a read. Reviews are so appreciated, and I gladly accept all feedback xo
7.
The Dixon brothers and Logan had settled into the group at the quarry as well as could be expected, which from Merle's point of view wasn't very well at all. They valued his and Daryl's hunting skills and their ability to handle zombies, or Walkers as this crowd called them. Logan had howled with laughter when that had come to light; the old man in the RV had gently corrected her once, stating that the term 'zombies' made things too real and they wanted to keep everything as objective as possible. Merle grinned, despite himself, at the memory of the young girl gasping for breath, clutching her stomach and cracking up and the idiocy of the group;
"'Too real'?! Man and people think I'm crazy!"
The burly man couldn't bring himself to think of the redhead as his daughter; that made things 'too real'. He had never thought he'd have kids, let alone knock a woman up after a one night stand. He'd given his intelligence too much credit it seemed, because weeks after he had finally banged Becky she had disappeared from town, fled to go and live with distant family and it hadn't been long before the rumours had started to circulate.
When he had found out the truth it felt too late to do anything even if he had wanted to, and Merle thought he had done pretty well with keeping up pretences and imagining the kid didn't exist. Becky Lehane may have been forthcoming when it came to wanting to involve him in Logan's life, but they both knew that it wasn't right and she had been all too happy when it was just Daryl and Jess that had kept in contact with her.
Despite everything though, Merle had to admit he was growing fond of the girl. At least, he was glad that she wasn't something girly priss like her mum had been. Logan was tough as nails and not a bad person to have around in a fight, and that alone redeemed her a little in his eyes. Thank God she didn't look anything like him; he wouldn't wish his ugly mug on anyone. She had his eyes though…the damn Dixon eyes.
The noise of a scuffle drew Merle's attention and he dragged his sore and sorry body out of the tent. If he wasn't out hunting with Daryl he preferred to be alone, snorting a little something and then chain smoking, or sleeping off the heat of the day. This group bugged him; it was full of people he would never have had a nice word to say to, back in the day that was. Maybe he could have seen past his natural racial prejudices if everyone wasn't so Goddamn uptight. Entire group walked around like they had sticks shoved up their arses in Merle's opinion. Especially the police officer, Shane, always thumping around talking about survival and 'the greater good'. As far as Merle was concerned there wasn't a greater good, there was only now and then. But he'd never cared much for cops anyway.
The sparse glow of morning light surprised him, noticing that it was early morning. He must have crashed out pretty hard last night because he couldn't remember the last time he had woken before noon. Merle strode towards the RV, from where low shouts and high-pitched giggles could be heard, and he couldn't help but crack a grin as he saw what all the fuss was about. One side of the white RV was now painted with an elaborate, and straight to the point, mural. 'Walker Warriors' was written in high, italic letters and the entire image was complete with a few crude zombie heads and a splattered blood effect. A bunch of abandoned spray paint cans littered the ground near the RV door and Merle shook his head slightly as Logan rounded the corner of the vehicle, a spray can clutched in her hand, closely followed by Shane who was growling expletives at her.
"What? I wrote 'Walkers'! Didn't want to offend anyone!"
"That ain't the point and you know it!" Shane stepped up to the young girl, towering over her, although she didn't seem in the least bit fazed by his presence, merely cocking her head to one side as if she was indeed trying to figure out what the point was.
"The point, my dear," Dale's reasonable voice started, Merle noting him for the first time as he stood to one side, surveying the picture on the caravan with a dismayed look, "Is that it's my RV and you never once asked if you could go near it. Let alone paint on it."
"Well Hell Papa Smurf, I thought you'd appreciate the creativity. Always banging on about art and poetry…"
"Don't speak to him like that Logan, you did the wrong thing here and now you've gotta make it up to Dale, to all of us." Shane stepped a fraction closer to the small girl, his form hulking over her as he tried dismally to control his anger.
"Back down Walsh," Merle hissed, surprising himself for intervening.
"You're her father! You should be the one talking to her about this, not me."
Merle shrugged;
"She's seventeen, kid can do what she likes."
"That's not how it works! Step up and be her dad!" Shane was practically spitting with rage. It seemed like such an overreaction over a simple painting, and Merle guessed this was more about Logan's defiance than anything else. Deputy Douchebag, as the teenage girl had been calling him, certainly liked to play bad cop.
"Alright. Logan, ya grounded." The redhead laughed at his blatantly sarcastic tone and winked at her estranged father, throwing the spray paint down to join the other cans and stepping back to check out her work. She'd obviously been up half the night creating it and Merle had to admire her tenacity.
"Son, I've never had children, but surely you want to reprimand her for this?" Dale's voice was even, but a little unsure of himself as he moved towards the other man.
"First of all; don't call me son," Merle huffed, counting on his fingers, "Second of all; not that it's any of your business, but I've never parented Logan before. Never even met her until a few weeks ago. So excuse me if I take a backseat here. Like I said, kid can do what she wants."
"But…" Dale stammered, "You're her guardian."
"I think you're looking for my baby brother," Merle replied testily, crossing his arms over himself, "And since he's out on a hunt at the moment you'll have to leave punishing the girl until he gets back."
"At least get her to wipe it off?" Shane suggested, rubbing his head and staring daggers at the young girl near him, who was still checking out her handiwork.
"No can do officer, Logan and I got shit we need to take care of. Come on girl!"
Logan ducked around Shane and skipped after Merle in the direction of their tents, just as others were starting to appear and cluster around the RV, gawking at the bright mural. Merle saw one of the particularly annoying members of the group, Lori, standing by her own tent and shooting him a negatively appraising glance. "Bitch isn't winning any 'Parent of the Year' awards herself," he muttered under his breath, thinking of the countless times she had lost track of her son, Carl, or left him in the care of others so she could head off into the woods to go and fuck the arrogant police officer. One of the perks of being considered nothing more than stupid rednecks was that no one bothered to hide too much around him and Daryl, thinking that they weren't observant or capable of figuring out basic, human relationships. Merle saw, and knew, everything.
"So Daddio, what's the hap-haps?"
"Shut up Logan," Merle grunted, sitting down on the roughly sanded log near their tents to rifle through one of the packs. He chucked her some jerky, grabbing a few pieces for himself and they ate in silence for a while, the aghast discussions from the main group travelling in fragments to meet their ears.
"You really know how to push people's buttons hey?"
"Oh please," Logan grinned, wiping her mouth and taking a swig from one of their water bottles, "Bet you did shit like this all the time when you were younger."
"Never graffiti," the older man admitted, "Didn't have the artist talent for shit like that."
They finished eating and Merle headed into his tent to quickly snort a line, noticing that his stash was getting far too low for his liking. When he came back out of the tent he saw Logan, sitting in the dirt and hurriedly downing a Redbull. The kid drank them like they were going out of style, getting Glenn, the young Asian man, to pick her up more energy drinks every time he went out on a supply run.
"That was my last one," Logan lamented, chucking the now crushed can into their unlit fire pit.
"Running out of my own poison too," he murmured comradely, rubbing the stubble of his chin.
"Heard them talking about a supply run yesterday," he jerked his head in the direction of the group that was gathered slightly down the hill, "Maybe I can get a lift into the city with them?"
"No way! If you're going then I am too."
"Like Hell you are!"
"Thought you weren't going to parent me Merley?" She smiled, quirking an eyebrow at him as if daring him to contest her.
"Watch yer lip girl!" Merle looked around him, wishing that his brother was there to make the decision for him. He seemed to be the only one to have control over the petulant youth;
"Fine," he eventually relented, sighing heavily, "Probably best not to leave ya here anyway. Who knows what these arseholes would do to you."
"Or what I'd do to them," Logan cried, her smile twisting into a larger, more malicious one that just caused her father to shake his head confusedly. She sure was an odd kid.
Glenn stood with his hands on his hips and avoided Dale's eye. It had been him that had given Logan the spray paint, she'd asked for him to find some for her on his last run and he'd just assumed that she was intending to use it practically or whatnot. Now, while Jim and Dale futilely attempted to wash the mural clean with rags and water gathered from the lake, he felt a surge of guilt that he hadn't questioned the young girl's motives. And as if Shane knew of his guilt and was trying to punish him, he was being forced to take a group out on a big supply run into the city, the first time he would be going into the city with company. A growing sense of worry filled him as he looked at the people Shane had recruited to accompany him. Morales and T-Dog both of whom would be fine if they kept quiet and followed his lead. Jacqui, the tall, black woman he hadn't had a whole lot to do with and Andrea, who had surprisingly volunteered to head into Atlanta. She was the one Glenn was most concerned about, he had never taken her for the hands on type, knowing that she had worked as a lawyer and enjoyed all the entitled luxuries that came with that position before the world had went to Hell. Glenn removed his baseball cap briefly to run a hand over his slicked back hair before he jammed the hat back on his head, only half paying attention to what Shane was telling the small scavenger group.
"Hey y'all talking about heading to the city?" Merle's rough voice jarred Glenn's senses, he had never felt more uneasy around another person before, and he felt uncomfortable around most people. The large redneck was closely followed by Logan, who shadowed her father as they made their way over to the small crowd of survivors.
"That's right Dixon," Shane barked in response, "I'm just organising these guys before they head off. Why you want to know?"
"Well the girly and I were thinking of volunteering our services…help everyone get back safe and sound and all that."
"No way," Morales said assuredly, glancing at everyone quickly to ensure they were nodding in agreement, "I'm not putting my life in your hands Dixon."
"Come on, you all think you'll really be able to manage in that city without some serious manpower behind you, how many of you have even taken down one of those Zombitches?"
The group shuffled awkwardly for a moment, Shane chewing the side of his thumb as if deliberating what Merle had just said;
"Besides. I'm running low on my pharmaceuticals and I sure as Hell don't trust any of you lot to go and get my stuff for me."
"That's a pretty piss-poor reason if you ask me. Get a hold of your drug habit Merle, it's the end of the world for God's sake," Andrea muttered, crossing her arms and frowning at the large man who glared at her hostilely.
"You lot really want to leave Merle here with only Deputy Douchebag to watch over him?" Logan jested with a grin, shrugging off Shane's low, warning growl, "Leave him with your sister?" She pointed at Andrea, "Or your pretty little wife?" This time it was Morales' turn to growl and Merle laughed at the reaction the girl's words were creating. He wouldn't lay a hand on Amy or the Mexican woman, but they didn't need to know that. Reluctantly the members of the group nodded in agreement about the hunter accompanying them, although none of them seemed too pleased about it.
"Alright so taking Merle makes sense, but why the girl?" T-Dog asked, acknowledging Logan with an incredulous stare, who looked up at him with a sly smile plastered on her face.
"She's quick on her feet and better with a knife, or gun, than I reckon any of you lot are…"
The assembly still seemed unsure, casting auspicious glances in Logan's direction, who remained oblivious to their doubt, simply smiling from person to person.
"It's true," Glenn spoke before he could stop himself, "I've seen her fight, both of them fight. If I'm having to take a big group into the city I'd feel safer with them on our side."
"Alright Glenn, if it will make you feel more comfortable," Shane consented, ignoring Merle and his daughter as the lightly bumped knuckles behind him. The collection of selected people separated, heading off to ready themselves for the trip. Andrea and Morales in particular seemed affronted by the thought of Dixon and Logan joining them, but they kept their grumbling to a minimum as they walked off to their respective families.
"Well that's done; I'm going to go get my shit ready, you coming?" Merle turned to his daughter, gesturing to their tents.
"I gotta talk to Cute Asian here," Logan responded, nodding to Glenn who stared at her from where he stood next to one of the cars, his expression changing from contemplative to worried in a flash.
Merle stomped off, hoping he had a chance to snort another line before they headed into the city. His tolerance for the drug had grown considerably over time and nowadays it took more than one hit for it to have any real effect on him.
"You want something Logan?" Glenn asked the girl, scrutinising her carefully. She was an odd teenager that was for sure. The way she looked reminded him of an Anime character; too big blue eyes, tiny pointed chin, the bright red hair always tied up in odd little styles. Today she was dressed in an old t-shirt with a band name printed across it that he had never heard of. She had cut the sleeves off the shirt and Glenn wondering wryly if that was a family tradition, thinking of Daryl's own mutilated tops.
"Just wanted to thank you for getting me those spray paints; how cool does the van look?!" She pointed excitedly towards the RV, where Jim and Dale had long since given up scrubbing, the painting staring back at everyone, brighter than ever.
"Yeah you're welcome," he muttered, realising with a sigh that she was totally impervious to the sardonic tone of his voice. She walked over to him and grinned wickedly before poking him in the nose with one finger;
"Boop! Stop taking things so seriously China Boy," Logan laughed, turning around to stroll away from him.
"I'm Korean!" He called after her, her only reply a tittering laugh.